


The Forgotten Men

by Gement



Series: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Magic [3]
Category: Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead - Stoppard
Genre: Alternate Universe - Robots & Androids, Alternate Universe - Space, Gen, The Void
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-30
Updated: 2014-10-30
Packaged: 2018-02-23 06:04:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 964
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2536907
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gement/pseuds/Gement
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Computer, which of us is Doctor Ross?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Forgotten Men

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hyenateeth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hyenateeth/gifts).



Against the cold blackness of space, a ship streaked silently, a shining silver nutshell. Within it, two figures, lying splayed on a steel floor, stirred.

An alarm droned. The figures struggled to sitting, clutching their heads.

"Doctor Ross, do not remove your helmet," the computer said. "Danger. Do not remove your helmet."

Both figures paused. In unison, they said, "Am I Doctor Ross?" They paused again.

"Doctor Ross, do not remove your helmet. Danger."

The two of them looked at their reflections in the gleaming wall. Their foil encounter suits, gloves, and boots were identical. One's helmet was silver with a black visor stripe, the other's gold with a smooth black dome.

The silver one said, "What's the danger?"

The computer said, "A radiation seal ruptured in the drive engine, rendering the ship uninhabitable, Doctor Ross. Do not remove your helmet."

The silver one said, "Oh."

The gold one said, "So he's Doctor Ross?"

The computer said, "You are Doctor Ross."

"We must have hit our heads," Silver said. "I don't remember a thing."

"Me neither," Gold said. "Computer, which of us is Doctor Ross?"

The computer hummed and beeped a couple of times in what might have been embarrassment. "Voice recognition databanks are not available at this time. My apologies, Doctor Ross."

Silver said, "There are two of us."

Gold said, "Computer, casualty count. How many survivors?"

"One survivor, Doctor Ross. Six fatalities."

"There are two of us," Silver repeated.

The computer said, "At the time of the radiation seal rupture, you were in this lab with your simulacrum assistant, Doctor Ross. Remaining crew are accounted for and confirmed dead."

"A robot," Gold said. "Would that simulacrum be about man height, with a metal helmet head?"

"That is correct, Doctor Ross."

Gold let his head thud into the wall with a soft clang.

Silver said, "You wouldn't happen to have a picture, computer?"

"Yes, Doctor Ross. Here is a staff photogram of you with your creation and research assistant, G.11.DN-STRN, commonly called G-Man." A screen panel crackled to life, flashed with static, then went black again. A sour electrical smell crept into the room.

They both stared at the dark screen. Silver said, "Well, that was helpful." He got to his feet, stretching his arms and flexing his gloves. "I suppose we'd better see what we can do about the ship."

Gold stared at him. "Don't you think it's slightly important to figure out which one of us is real?"

Silver shrugged and knocked on his helmet. "We're both real enough to be stuck on a hot ship. Hopefully between the two of us we can remember enough to patch it up."

Gold stood up. "Fair enough. But who's in charge?"

"You can be if you want," Silver said.

"That's not how it works," Gold said.

* * *

They walked along the corridor, dragging a wheeled toolbox and a replacement seal.

"So, to sum up," Silver said, "We've got two crew in infirmary, one of whom was apparently stabbed. We've got one orbiting the ship with no suit, and three in the drive room, presumably trying to fix the seal."

"Presumably."

"This ship needed a therapist."

"She's the one orbiting the ship."

"She wasn't very good at her job, then."

"Some people can't be helped." Gold reached the door first and pressed it. Nothing happened. "Computer, open this door."

"I'm sorry, Doctor Ross. I'm afraid I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Safety protocol, Doctor Ross. Your suit will not withstand local radiation levels in the drive room."

Gold sat down on the toolbox. "Well, then."

Silver walked up to the door. "Computer, could you open the viewport? Just for five seconds?"

Gold scooted several paces further away. Silver looked in the window, craning his head to see as much of the room as possible. When the window shielding slid shut again, he silently walked over to sit down beside Gold.

"Well?" Gold eventually asked.

Silver said, "Computer, how many weapon discharges in the drive room in, oh, say, the hour before the seal failed?"

Gold sat bolt upright.

"Six, Doctor Ross."

"And how many of those shots landed squarely on the radiation shielding?"

"Three, Doctor Ross."

"They blew it up," Gold said dully. "They blew it all up."

After a moment of silence, Silver stood up again. "Let's go have a look at the emergency supplies."

* * *

Four hours later, the two of them sat in a viewport, looking out at the void.

"I'm thirsty," Silver said.

"I am too," Gold said. "We can't both be thirsty. One of us just needs more coolant."

"Is there a difference?"

Gold shook his head. "The radiation will cook our circuits either way. If we could have gotten just one decontamination station working..."

"We got the beacons launched at least," Silver said. "What if... What if one of us went out the airlock, with a pack of water and a pack of coolant and a straw, and really quickly..."

"No."

"No?"

"You said I could be in charge. No."

"Well, if you're going to be that way about it." Silver crossed his arms and slouched down further. "I wonder what it feels like to be made out of meat. If I knew, then I'd know if I was feeling that."

Gold turned from the view to look at him. "I honestly think you're too weird to be a robot. But maybe I programmed something more whimsical to act as a counterpoint to my analysis."

"Or maybe I programmed something more analytical to remind me when to switch the Bunsen burners off."

"It's an even chance."

They watched the gleam of a beacon tumbling away from the ship, a tiny gold circle flickering intermittently.

Silver said, "Want to play cards?"

Gold tilted his head. "We might as well."

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this with the express purpose of MSTing it in Act II, Scene v of [Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Magic](http://archiveofourown.org/works/2017755). I took the opportunity to write something like the Asimov shorts I read as a kid, from before people had gotten over just how _empty_ space is, putting the astronomical in astronomical distances.
> 
> Acknowledgements: This story was based on a [prompt](http://hyenateeth.tumblr.com/post/75227492360/djackmanson-hyenateeth-sci-fi-rosencrantz) by [HyenaTeeth](http://archiveofourown.org/users/hyenateeth). Used with permission and sincere thanks.


End file.
